I mos def need high def.

Drez

So I barely ever watch TV and I have my game systems (essentially just a PS3 for now) connected to my PC.

I'd LIKE to set my Wii back up, with one of them thar HDMI converter thingies, but my TV is a 27" Sony WEGA with severe geometry issues. I'd also like to get an Xbox 360 again eventually (last one broke like 2 years ago).

Annnyway, I've noticed that HDTVs are kinda dirt cheap now. I'm surprised. I'm looking for something for my bedroom, so nothing over, say, 40". And I want it to do 1080p. Is this decent?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia™+-+40"+Class+-+LCD+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+HDTV/4550458.p?id=1218483794943&skuId=4550458&st=Select_HDTVs_Sale_20120422&cp=1&lp=5

Is there anything I should be wary of when looking? I can't believe these things are so cheap now.

Hewn

Viewing angle and speakers I always like to check in the store. Other than that, make sure it has enough inputs for your needs. I don't know much about Insignia, but I doubt you'll have any issues with that TV based upon your post.

matt has a problem

Most 40" TVs aren't going to have too much variation in quality really. They've become sort of the standard size for LCD. $350-400 is a good price for the more no-frills models. Once they start adding on ethernet/wifi, 3D, 120/240hz etc, the price climbs though. With a 40" it's recommended to sit 4-5 feet back from it at minimum, so make sure you have the space.

Esh

Big ol' stickied TV thread in Moe's.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141038/the-tv-thread-more-for-less/p1

Blake T

He prefers to be called Yasiin Bey nowadays.

MegaMan001

Everyone is going to have their own anecdotal evidence about what is the best kind of TV, so I'll throw mine in. I swear by Samsung LCDs, great quality, good deep blacks, and acceptable speakers. I bought a 46 inch LCD five years ago that's been moved from Chicago, to Rochester, MN, back to Chicago, and then out to Boston without a problem.

Regardless what you want, take a day to go to Best Buy or wherever and look at all the panels in your size range, write down the serial numbers and then look online for better deals.

For extra credit, bring back those deals to Best Buy and they will match it and you usually can get free shipping out of the deal.

Burtletoy

Drez wrote:

So I barely ever watch TV and I have my game systems (essentially just a PS3 for now) connected to my PC.

I'd LIKE to set my Wii back up, with one of them thar HDMI converter thingies, but my TV is a 27" Sony WEGA with severe geometry issues. I'd also like to get an Xbox 360 again eventually (last one broke like 2 years ago).

Annnyway, I've noticed that HDTVs are kinda dirt cheap now. I'm surprised. I'm looking for something for my bedroom, so nothing over, say, 40". And I want it to do 1080p. Is this decent?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia™+-+40"+Class+-+LCD+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+HDTV/4550458.p?id=1218483794943&skuId=4550458&st=Select_HDTVs_Sale_20120422&cp=1&lp=5

Is there anything I should be wary of when looking? I can't believe these things are so cheap now.

Insignia is a BestBuy in-house brand.

Not really the highest of quality.

If you want best-in-class (not counting Sharp's Elite TV offerings, because lol $Texas) you probably want a Panasonic Plasma or a Samsung LCD.

Also; check deal sites like SlickDeals.net (go into their forums and filter catagories by Video)

There are a few things to be wary of is:

1. Don't trust the spec numbers for brightness/black levels/whatever because there is no industry standard and everyone just pulls these numbers from their ass. You *might* be able to compare these numbers between different models from the same manufacturer, but not between different brands.

2. In store viewing of TV isn't really a good way to go about picking a TV because most TV's in side a store are calibrated terrible and won't give you an honest picture quality, aka they make the more expensive tv's look better and the cheaper ones look worse by manipulating the settings to favor one versus the other.

3. I think there was another thing I was going to say here, but I forget.

Drez

Thanks all!